Yes…
Starting again…
Again…
I know I have restarted this 365 project over and over and failed…every time since the first time but I have to face the fact that I need to start agian
I could load up the excuses, from leg injuries, to bereavement, to brain scans, anxiety and depression, but I am not going to. It is time to let them go and move forward with new ventures and old ventures, and generally looking after myself better than I have been. All of these things boil down to one thing, I made a lot of really bad food choices, repeatedly and in a sustained way. Or to put it another way I have eaten my bodyweight in chocolate and sweets and ice cream and the like on top of not particularly great food choices for meals.
There is no excuse. I knew I was making bad choices, I knew where it would lead, yet I did it anyway and here I am, starting again, again…
I am not making any giant promises to run all the time and add yoga in, and gym every day and fly around the room because this isn’t how I work. I will be as active as I possibly can and commit to 30 mins of activity a day. activity can be walking or jumping up and down or kettlebells…no limits, no rules.
To be honest however, activity is not really the problem. I am active. I am less active than I was mid 365 y1 but I am still active. The problem is, as it always has been, food. I eat when I am angry, I eat when I am sad and I eat when I am bored. I have always done this, but recently I forgot to stop… I have eaten myself back to a weight which is close to where I started all those years ago.
I am not the same shape as I was then.
I am not the same size as I was then
I am not as unfit as I was then
I am sure my body composition is better than it was then (this is a guess because I didn’t measure it then)
But I am not close to where I want to be on any front. I am not sure I am really fit enough to dance in a mask, at least not as well or for as long as I’d like. All of this means that I must do something. Not just talk about doing something, not just write about it, but actually do it. It is OK I have done it before, and I can do it again.
So, what is this new thing I mentioned?
What is the thing I am doing now which is going to make me turn back around and run towards health and fitness and sensible eating?
It is Intermittent Fasting.
This is not me back tracking and falling back into the world of fad diets and diet industry tricks I promise! It is a way of me gaining control back over my eating habits. It seems, from what I have read, to be medically sound and a good way of gaining control over blood sugar and energy levels as well as calorie intake.
The basic schedule that I have decided to follow is 16:8 which is 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours where I can eat.
It sounds bad but it is really the equivalent of skipping breakfast and eating dinner at a sensible time in the evening coupled with no mid morning / late evening snacks / extra meals / staggeringly large amounts of chocolate.
As with everything it actually relies on people sticking to the plan and eating sensibly. After all, a cycle of fasting for 16 hours and then stuffing down 6 take away pizzas and 1kg of chocolate is not going to help weight loss or control of sugar levels or anything…
As I have said I am using it as a means of gaining back control of myself. After all, if I am going to keep training (which I am) I am going to need to think very carefully about what I eat when I am allowed to eat. It will have to be real healthy food with all of the required nutrients and suchlike or I am not going to be able to maintain the training and I am not going to be able to maintain the dancing.
And after all, If I can’t maintain the dancing this is all pointless anyway….
(which sounds quite dramatic, but it wasn’t meant to, I am sure you know what I mean)
There is a huge amount of information out there about how to do IF (as apparently it is referred to). There is a lot about the 16:8 schedule I have chosen but also a lot about a lot of other versions. If you want to know more about it I would suggest looking here:
or, if you don’t want to read all of that here is a handy info graphic that I have “borrowed” from the Renegade Pharmacist site
I have been doing this for 3.5 days so far, and I do feel more in control but I am still in the adapting phase where my body has no idea what is going on. Consequently I am not feeling any of the benefits yet… but it has only been 3 days so this is hardly surprising!
I will, of course keep you posted, because part of my taking back control process involves me documenting more of what I do. In other words, I am going to stop neglecting this blog.
Project Warrior Goddess 
Firstly, you have not ‘failed’ the 365 Project at all – NOT AT ALL! It might not have turned out the way you planned, or even would have liked, each time – but it has NEVER been a failure. You have got fit and strong, you have increased your knowledge of diet and exercise – you have trained and inspired others, for goodness sake!! I know it must be hard to have slipped back a bit and there be some wobblier bits here and there. Are there wobbly bits? I’m only assuming because of the chocolate. But anyway. Your body and mind are a million times better and stronger than they were when you started out and you continue to lead and inspire others to great health. Please don’t ever think you have failed. You have succeeded in more ways than you realise. You are amazing and I love you lots 🙂 xx
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Thank you ❤ ❤
you have a very good way of making me feel a lot better about myself!
the funny thing is the new plan has made me feel more positive already… I started writing this on Monday, which was the official first day of this eating/healthy restart thingy…and I was feeling quite negative about letting myself slip back… I re read it today when I finished the post and I already feel better but I thought I'd leave it because it is a snapshot of how I felt exactly at the start of the the next start (as is were).
There are definitely wobbly bit, there was a lot of chocolate!!
The good thing about this new plan is I don't have to give up chocolate and biscuits and bacon sandwiches all together, just not eat them all the time, constantly from morning to night!
thank you for making me focus on the positives of the last few years 😀
I love you lots too!! 😀 ❤
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I’m glad you kept the post as it was because it’s important that people see and understand the true feelings behind your endeavours. It just makes me a wee bit upset as you are my friend and I hate to think of you unhappy! So pleased you are feeling better and more positive 🙂
I’m on a teeny health kick as well. I got some wobbly bits over Christmas, which was fine, but then they didn’t go anywhere when I returned to ‘normal’ eating, so I am being very good at the moment and doing a few pilates exercises most days to tighten up my core and firm things up a bit. Mind you, I’m going to Mumsie’s tomorrow for Easter so a few new little wobbles will probably appear!! 😀
It’s so hard to remember all the positive things when it’s your own life, so I’m pleased to just do my bit and remind you every now and then 🙂
We will get together soon for book-related stuff, I’ll keep you posted – things still up in the air but should get some dates soon 🙂 We can celebrate with fizzy water and a carrot stick each… hehe!
Big hugs from me and my wobbly bits 😀 x
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I am glad I kept it too 🙂 I have a history of putting exactly what I am feeling up on this blog and I think it is probably a good thing to continue that trend 🙂
I think wobbly bits are par for the course…my aim is to be not JUST wobbly bits 😀 or at least I’d like to see a teeny bit of the muscle that is hiding under them!
it is definitely hard to look past the negatives when it is your own life. I try to rephrase things as if I was talking to someone else so that I am not too mean to myself! 🙂
I am looking forward to our get together, even though I don’t know when it is yet…
😀
Big hugs right back! 😀 x
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I really admire you for putting it all out there, it makes us all feel a little less alone with our darker thoughts 🙂
A bit of wobble is perfectly acceptable, I reckon. Tamed wobble is what I’m going for 😀
Yay it will be soon and I can’t wait to see you!! x
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It makes me feel less alone with them too 🙂 makes me unable to hide from them too which helps 🙂
I think tamed wobble is definitely a good aim!
Yay!!! 😊😊😊xx
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I did intermittent fasting last year – it was so much easier than I expected! I didn’t see any extra results from it, so I stopped. But, I enjoyed it, and have considered doing it everyone couple of months to help my body burn better. I’ll be interested in what you discover!
Also, this year, my goal has been allover well-being, not just focusing on my running, or running goals or yoga, but focusing on movement, eating right, treating myself well, gratitude, etc. And my goal of movement every day has been met every day this year! Some days it’s been hard, but it’s good knowing that I can run, or I can do yoga, or, I can volunteer at the food co-op and that distributing baskets there is a good 30 min sweat, and that counts! 🙂
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It is not going to be a very controlled experiment, I don’t suppose I will be able to tel the difference between the IF results and the general eating better results… but I will do my best and up date the blog 🙂
I think the goal of general movement is a good one… it isn’t quite as restrictive:)
Distributing baskets of food definitely counts 😊
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Firstly, massive hugs to you. 🤗 🤗 🤗
B) you are not alone. My 365 fell off the rails before the end of January. I could blame the insane travel schedule followed by the 4 week Ebola-like sickness, but what is my excuse since Mar 1st? I’ve not traveled since that day. My routine has actually been just that: a routine. Yet 29 days into the month all I’ve done is some halfway decent walks. And to top it all off, as you say, I’m aware I’m making this choice. I’m aware of the consequences, and yet here I am, deciding this every day.
Third) I’m so very sorry to hear you were bereaved. Wishing you peace and comfort.
Lastly, you are a warrior because you keep trying. That earns you nothing but respect in my book.
xoxo 😘
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Massive hugs right back to you!!!
It is hard to commit to these things and still do everything else that we want/need to do!
But I need to commit to something or I fall right back in the old traps! Although not right back to the start at least!
I love that you think I am a warrior! It helps enormously!! I have to keep trying, there is no giving up here! As long as we try it will all be ok in the end (she says hopefully)
Xoxo 😘
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I’m looking forward to your blog posts. 😊
Isn’t it strange how differently we can view ourselves compared to others. You’ve always seemed like such an inspiration to me. From the the start of my blogging you’ve been there, grrrrling away, lifting weights, doing cardio, and yes dancing with a mask on. I’ve seen it all and thought “that might be me some day”. (except the dancing. I’m not great at dancing)
And then, on days when I needed it the most, you were there to cheer me on.
You are awesome and certainly not a failure.
X
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😊😊😊
Thank you!!
It is lovely to hear…it is always surprising to hear how you are viewed from outside perspectives!!
It has felt a bit like a fight this year, and it is easy to forget all the good things I do, and remember the kilos of chocolate!
I am already more positive than when I started this post on Monday so this control thing is working 🙂
And you could totally do the dancing if you wanted… it is not as complicated as it looks 😊
X
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No, not a failure at all. You’ve done pretty well by the sound of it. I know nothing about intermittent fasting, but I would suggest having something at breakfast time, even if only a banana, as you might well struggle without.
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Thank you 😊
The point if intermittent fasting is to keep your body in a fasted state so it burns fat…
Eating at breakfast is the exact opposite of the right thing to do in this particular situation…
Ask bananananas are evil 😂
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Be careful…but good luck! I couldn’t leave the house without breakfast. Come to think of it, I couldn’t even reach the front door without breakfast.
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I is well documented and medically sound 🙂
But I will be careful
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You have absolutely not failed, look how many times I’ve restarted, and you wouldn’t tell me I’d failed, would you?? (Oh I hope I’m right in my assumption of your answer to that!)
Trying a new thing is almost always good, I know very little about IT so I can’t really offer an opinion. I don’t think it would be for me, personally, but that’s not to say it’s no good – I’m just one of those people who can’t skip breakfast (I get super cranky). I’m so happy that you’re back to blogging, hopefully I’ll find the time from somewhere to join you. Just remember that you are AWESOME!!
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Thank you 🙂 🙂
You are absolutely right, I wouldn’t tell you you have failed, I wouldn’t think it either!!
I have no idea why we can’t apply the same logic to ourselves as we do other people…
I will let you know if it works for me, I think it is a matter of adapting to it, for a lot of my life I never ate breakfast, it is only a recent thing… the difficult but is going to the gym in the morning then not eating until 12 ish
❤️ you are awesome too and I hope you do restart blogging too I love your blog!!
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